Although desktop traffic is on the decline, email remains a critical component. People consistently check their emails whether from a desktop or mobile phone. Just about everyone, regardless of profession, checks their email on a daily basis. One of the strengths of email marketing is the consumer is virtually guaranteed to see the email headline. From there, they decides whether to trash it or read it. On social media, however, it’s so easy for a marketer’s messages to become lost in the person’s feed. This is especially true for such a fast-paced social media network like Twitter. An inbox is less hectic, giving the email a higher chance of being seen.

Email marketing stats collected over 2015 have shown that email marketing continues to evolve. There are no signs of it declining in importance. In fact, just last year in 2014, email marketing was labeled the the most effective digital marketing channel in terms of customer retention in the United States. Throughout 2015, email marketing remained a critical component of customer retention and based on the stats, it will continue that trend throughout 2016.

A marketing plan isn’t complete without email marketing included. Read the critical email marketing stats below to create an excellent plan for getting the most out of your marketing efforts in 2016. Snagging someone’s attention is only part of the battle. The next part is holding onto that person’s attention until he becomes a loyal customer. That is the ultimate goal of marketing. And it is email marketing in particular that is excellent at customer retention. Continue reading to learn about the results email marketing delivered this year for top marketers and businesses.